Tesla Motors Inc , in a statement to shareholders, acknowledged that the Model X “may be the hardest car to build in the world.” After so much delay in the launch of the much-awaited car, one can safely assume that the firm is not wrong
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Making Tesla Motors Model X not easy
“We are building more validation vehicles, executing final engineering and testing work, enabling our new manufacturing equipment and finalizing arrangements with our suppliers,” Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk said in the letter. Further, the letter states that the firm is making the bodies for the “release candidate” in its new body shop, which has 500 robots working “we fine-tune and validate our production processes.”
Noting the challenge, the firm says an issue with even one of the supplier, may lower the production of the Model X units by around 800 units a quarter. Such issues made Musk say, “The Model X is a particularly hard car to build. Maybe the hardest car in the world to build,” adding “I think it’s going to blow people away.”
In the letter, the firm said in the coming months it will grow from a single to a “multi-product company,” calling it a “milestone in the maturation of Tesla.” The EV maker has been selling one car, the Model S, for the last three years.
Limited deliveries this quarter
From the Musk’s comments and the delay in the launch of Model X, it can be inferred that the production of the crossover model is not that easy. As of now, the upcoming model is in road testing phase, and the firm is ramping its production to meet the pre-orders by this year.
It appears that for now the production issues has been resolved as both Model S and the Model X are being built on the same assembly line, the firm said.
Musk has time again claimed that the Model X will get a big response once it hits the market. The Tesla Motors CEO has said previously that the sticking point for the car is its rear seats, which Musk referred to as sculptural. According to Musk, the falcon-wing doors did not pose much of a manufacturing issue.
In the quarterly letter, the EV firm also confirmed the launch of the Model X in September. Deliveries for the car will start in late Q3, but Tesla expect only a “small number” of cars to be delivered in the quarter. On Wednesday, Tesla posted its second-quarter earnings. Though Tesla Motors beat the estimates, it lowered its production outlook.
